It has been too long since my last update. The work has been going well. There hasn’t been anything of note to report. It has settled down to the day to day work of being a located minister. There is a certain comfort to that. I am happy to report that a good friend of mine from back in Arkansas sent us a box of material for personal evangelism. If I counted correctly we now have thirty copies of Paul Sain’s book, Someone Died and Left You a Fortune. I love these books. Over the last couple of years I have successfully used these books in Bible studies with great success. I plan on incorporating the use of these books here in the work training the members to be personal evangelist. They are willing and have a mind to work.
The morale has shifted. It is an amazing thing to see. After services on Wednesday or Sunday evening it is rather difficult to get out the door. Sometimes after the closing prayer most of the congregation just sit around and talk. The auditorium is small enough that just sitting in your seat allows talking to just about anyone in the room. The feedback I have heard from several is that this “never” happened in the past. In my opinion, if moral is low and folk rush out the door after services then the congregation is probably trending in the wrong direction.
This past Sunday I preached a simple straightforward sermon about the church of Christ and how she is different and peculiar. One of the visitors who has been attending regularly came up after service and said, “so, I got some questions.” Of course, this was music to my ears. I gave him some surface answers with an invitation for he and I to meet at a later date, We tried to set a time this week but with his new business he could not do it. Tomorrow, the 24th of April, he wants to study after the fellowship meal. He seemed excited. Please pray for him, his name is Noel.
Our support situation is still dire. We have about a 3500 USD budget and we have about 1000 USD raised. I supplement my support by doing a live show for www.digitalbiblestudy.org on Tuesday nights and folk who listen to my Cogitations podcast sent me support in the amount of 190 USD per month. Everything we think things are going to come crashing down it seems some random person who knows we are in need sends a one time donation,. If it were not for those we would not be able to stay here. I hope and pray our Permanent Residency status kicks in soon. Once that happens LaBeth and I will be able to “build tents” and we will not be so reliant on support. I ask for your prayers again on this wise.
All in all, I am still very excited about the work here. I would invite anyone to come up here and spend some time with these folk. You will fall in love with them as I have.
For those of you who are supporting us and have sent one time donations, I am not adequate to the task of expressing my gratitude. Thanks so much for allowing me to work in this mission field. I am confident that God will greatly increase these efforts.